Thursday, April 26, 2012

Using lyrics in fiction

Don't do it.

There may be some wiggle room if you're published with a big six or you're close personal friends with Bono, but if you're a first-time author, the copyright laws are such that it's impossible to get permission to use song lyrics in your work of fiction.

Not once, but twice. Apparently, I imagined myself to be an exception.

So, this has been fixed in Monsoon Season and I just came across a great example of a writer who manages to get song lyrics in the reader's head without breaking any rules. Check out page 112 of The Long Way Home.

3 comments:

I had the same problem. My book is loaded with musical references, and you are correct -- aside from the fact that it is very difficult to find the right people (they don't reply), the cost is usually prohibitive for first-time authors.

Here is how I handled one scene where my character is using loud, angry songs to feel better about the situation he is in:

Note: Sasha is my character's dog

"As Alkaline Trio starts singing “Radio”, I notice Sasha get up and walk of the room. She wants it known that she does not approve of what I’m about to do. She’s actually seen it twice before. I lie on the floor, stare at the ceiling, and sing along to the chorus as loud as I can. It’s about wishing a former lover would share her bath with an electrical appliance.

When the song’s haunting, final chord fades like a ghost in the night, I don’t feel any better. I step up the anger with a song by Brand New called “Seventy Times 7”. It’s one of the meanest songs I’ve ever heard. He spends four minutes wishing the object of his scorn experiences a violent death in a car accident."

It's not as clean as using the real words, but the point gets made and I'm pretty sure I'll stay out of trouble.